Amish Christmas Twins

by Patricia Davids

  “Will you marry me?”

  “I can’t believe you still want that.”

  He gathered her in his arms. “I will never stop wanting you, Willa darling. Give me the right to keep you by my side for as long as God wills. Give your children the right to call me their father.”

  “What if we lose them?”

  He kissed her cheek. “We won’t. I have faith in God’s mercy. He has brought me all that my heart desires. Say yes.”

  Lucy came flying into the room and grabbed his arm as she grinned at him. “I heard you, Johnjohn. Did you miss me?”

  Megan was close behind her sister and grabbed his other arm. “Can we go home, please? I think the kitties are missing me.”

  He rose to his feet, lifting both girls in his arms. “I have missed you both and your mother most of all. What do you say, Willa? May we go home now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you marry me? With these two witnesses, will you promise to love and cherish me for as long as we both shall live?”

  Willa drew a deep breath and rose to her feet. “Yes.”

  She raised her face for his kiss and her daughters squealed in delight.

  * * *

  After two nerve-racking days without hearing from the sheriff, Willa started to relax. Perhaps Miriam didn’t know Willa was the woman her husband had been looking for. Debra left a message on the machine at the phone hut, telling them her friend was willing to take their case at no cost and would be out to see them after the first of the year but to call if they needed her before then.

  John spoke to the bishop and made plans to marry her on the Tuesday after Christmas. She could barely believe John was willing to wed her after all he had learned, but he constantly reassured her that he was.

  On the morning of the third day, Willa was filling the coffeepot with water when she looked out the kitchen window and saw a white SUV with the county sheriff’s logo printed on the side. It pulled to a stop in front of the house. A second unmarked black car stopped behind it. Her newfound faith in God’s mercy was about to be put to the test.

  John moved to stand behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders. “I know Sheriff Bradley. He is a goot man.”

  “But he must obey the law.” It was too late to run. Where could she hide?

  “We must have faith in God’s goodness.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. They aren’t your children.”

  He turned Willa around to face him. “Those words are painful to hear. I love the girls as if they were my own. To see them taken away from us would break my heart into tiny pieces. The will of God can be difficult to accept, but even in our sorrow He is with us. This is our faith.”

  She wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry. Forgive me. I’m afraid.”

  “I know you are, but I have seen you be very brave for the sake of your children. Be brave now.”

  Vera came into the room. “Did I hear a car?” At Willa’s nod, she said, “I’ll keep the girls in their room until you send for them.”

  John led Willa to the front door, opened it and stepped outside still holding her hand. Nick Bradley and her cousin Miriam got out of the SUV.

  “Good morning.” The sheriff nodded at them.

  “What brings you out this way, Nick?” John asked.

  Miriam came around the vehicle to stand beside her husband, but her gaze was fixed on Willa. “Hello, cousin. We have brought Gary and Nora Chase with us. They have asked Nick to make a welfare check on their grandchildren. Are the girls here?”

  Willa was trembling so hard she thought she might fall down. She couldn’t speak. John slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. “They are. Come inside. It is too cold to stand out here and we have much to talk about.”

  The doors of the black car opened, and Willa got her first look at her in-laws. They didn’t look like evil people. The man bore a stunning resemblance to his deceased son. He had graying hair and wore glasses, but she would have known him as Glen’s father anywhere. The woman with him was blonde and slightly plump. She gripped her husband’s arm tightly. Willa saw an odd mixture of hope and fear cross her face as she looked up at him. He covered her hand with his own in a gesture of comfort.

  Willa turned away and went inside. She could hear the girls laughing in their room. She wanted to fly to them and gather them into her arms.

  Please, God, I trust You to be with them and with me whatever Your plan is for us, but don’t destroy their happiness. They are so young and innocent.

  She moved into the kitchen and sat in the rocker by the stove. She clasped her hands together. Her fingers were ice-cold. John stood by her side with his hand on her shoulder.

  The sheriff and Miriam took seats at the table. Willa’s in-laws remained standing awkwardly in the center of the room. Miriam said, “I don’t believe you have met these people.”

  Willa raised her chin. “My husband wanted nothing to do with them.”

  Glen’s mother turned to hide her face in her husband’s shoulder. His arm went around her. He cleared his throat. “We are aware of our son’s feelings. I assure you it was one-sided. We loved Glen. We only wanted to help him.”

  Willa hardened her heart. “You chased him away from every job, from every home we tried to make. We lived in terror that you would find us and take our daughters away. How was that helping?”

  Gary flinched but faced her. “Glen became a compulsive gambler as a teenager. It only got worse no matter how often we tried to help him. The break in our relationship came after my son stole a large amount of money from my business after I gave him a job there. I had no choice but to press charges. That’s when he started running.”

  Willa bristled. “I never knew Glen to gamble.”

  Nora patted her husband’s arm and faced Willa. “Our private investigator was often able to locate Glen by having the gambling windows watched at the larger racetracks.”

  Willa frowned. “He worked at the racetracks.”

  Gary nodded. “He did, but never for long because of his gambling.”

  Willa didn’t want to believe him, but it explained so much: the large sums of money that disappeared quickly and the weeks without any pay. “You told him you were going to take the children away.”

  Nora stepped closer. “We were overjoyed when Glen called us to help with the babies after you became ill. We saw a chance to reconcile with our son. While you were hospitalized, I was home alone with the babies when a man Glen owed money to came to collect. It was so frightening. He left, but when Glen came home, Gary and I told him we wanted temporary custody of the children while he got help for his compulsive gambling addiction at an inpatient facility.”

  Gary moved to stand beside Nora. “We wanted to make sure both he and the girls were safe. Glen agreed and signed the papers, but before he went into treatment, he took the girls to visit you and disappeared. After we learned of his death, we continued looking for you because we want to help and because we love our granddaughters. We don’t want to take them away from you.”

  Miriam leaned forward on the table. “It’s true, Willa. Nick checked out their story.”

  Willa looked at them in disbelief. “Glen lied about everything.”

  “Not everything,” Nora said. “He loved you and his daughters very much. May we see the girls?”

  John said, “Come with me and I’ll reintroduce you to Megan and Lucy. They will be delighted to have a new mammi and daddi, but first I must tell you that Willa and I plan to marry. I will raise Willa’s children as my own.”

  Nick chuckled. “We heard the news from Debra and your new attorney early this morning. Nora and Gary had plenty of questions about having Amish grandchildren.”

  Miriam smiled at Willa. “Fortunately, we were able to answer mos
t of those questions, since we have an Amish granddaughter, too. If your girls are anything like Hannah was at three, watch out.”

  Gary grasped his wife’s hand. “We just want to be a part of their lives.”

  Glen had wronged his parents and lied to her, but she knew he had been genuinely afraid of losing the girls. She glanced at John. He nodded and said, “Perhaps you would like to spend Christmas with us so we can get to know each other.”

  Gary looked at his wife. “We’d love that.”

  “You should come to the school’s Christmas program tonight,” Miriam suggested. “It will give you a feel for the kind of education your grandchildren will have.”

  “Plus, Hannah has a major part in the play they’re putting on,” Nick said with a knowing smile for his wife.

  The girls were shy of their new grandparents at first, but by midafternoon they were showing Gary and Nora the kittens and cows in the barn and introducing them to the horses. John came into the house while they were exploring. Willa was washing dishes. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  She sighed heavily. “All these years of fear for nothing. I still can’t believe it. I was wrong to doubt God’s mercy so long. I can’t imagine how Nora and Gary must have suffered.”

  “We will make it up to them. Shall we take the sleigh or the buggy to the school program tonight?”

  She touched a soapy finger to his nose. “I have a fondness for sleighs, as one brought us together.”

  “Fond enough to name our boy Melvin? It was his sleigh.”

  “I have always liked that name.”

  He rubbed his nose on her kapp and kissed her forehead. “Then the sleigh it is.”

  They attended the late performance. Vera was in her element as she explained their Amish customs and answered Nora’s questions. Afterward, the family rode home slowly along the snow-covered country road as the brilliant stars came out overhead. The only sounds were the hissing of the runners over the snow and the jingle of harness bells. Willa snuggled against John and leaned her head on his shoulder. The peace of Christmas Eve seeped into her heart and healed the wounds of Glen’s betrayal.

  God had brought a fine man into her life, and she was a fool if she didn’t hold on to him.

  When they reached home, Willa and Nora put the girls to bed and had to read only one story before the twins were both fast asleep.

  John leaned back in his chair and glanced up as Nora and Willa came into the kitchen, where he and Gary had been enjoying a cup of coffee after having decorated the mantel and window ledges with pine boughs.

  Willa drew a deep breath and smiled. “It smells wonderful in here.”

  Vera came in with several large candles and holders in her hands. “It finally seems like Christmas. Willa, will you place the candles in the windows so the world may see them shining brightly and know the light of the Christ child is found in this household?”

  John’s heart overflowed with love for Willa as he watched her place a candle in the kitchen window and light it. In a few more days she would be his wife. Suddenly, her face grew pale. Her knuckles turned white as her fingers tightened on the window ledge. He sprang to his feet. “What’s wrong?”

  Willa started panting. “It’s time.”

  “Are you sure? Could this be false labor?” his mother asked.

  “Nee, this is the real thing. My back has been aching for a while.” She drew a deep breath and stood upright.

  “It’s too soon.” Fear clutched John’s chest.

  Willa shook her head. “The midwife said this one might come early. My dates could be off.”

  His mother turned to him. “Fetch the midwife.”

  John felt as if his feet had turned to lead. Willa’s baby was coming, and he wasn’t yet her husband. “I will fetch the bishop, too.”

  “You don’t have to, John,” Willa said softly.

  “I don’t need to, but I want to.” How much time did he have? “I’ll hitch up the buggy.”

  Gary took John by the arm. “It will be faster if we use my car. It has four-wheel drive.”

  As the men rushed out the door, Nora took Willa by the arm. “Are you ready to lie down, or do you want to walk?”

  “I’ll walk. I hope they hurry.”

  They did. Willa was standing in the living room holding on to the fireplace mantel when John and Gary rushed in with a sleepy and slightly grumpy bishop.

  “Where is the midwife?” Nora demanded, looking past them.

  “I called her. She is on her way,” Gary assured her.

  Willa gritted her teeth as another contraction hit. “I hate to rush you, Bishop Beachy, but I don’t think we have much time.”

  The flustered man motioned to John. “Take her hand. Maid of honor stand at Willa’s side and the groomsman stand beside John.”

  Nora stepped back to allow Vera to stand beside Willa, but Willa shook her head and held out her hand. “Nora, I would be most pleased if you would stand up with me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “You are part of my family. I’m sure.”

  “Don’t you need rings?” Gary asked, working his wedding band off.

  “Nee, we do not use such worldly symbols,” the bishop said kindly.

  Willa grasped John’s hand and felt him tremble. “Are you sure?” she whispered.

  He squeezed her fingers as he smiled at her. “I am the happiest man on earth at this moment. I’m sure. Are you?”

  Willa thought she knew exactly how he felt. “There is not a doubt in my heart.”

  Together they listened to the solemn words of the ceremony and answered “I do” in strong, sure voices.

  The bishop raised his hand to bless them. “I pronounce you husband and wife and what Gott has joined together let no man put asunder.”

  The outside door opened, and Janice Willard came in with a large black bag. She paused as she saw the gathering. “What did I miss?”

  “Not the most important part,” John said. He turned to Willa, gently pulled her into his arms and kissed her. A second later another, stronger, contraction hit, and she bowed her head against his shoulder. She couldn’t stifle the moan that rose to her throat.

  “I know that sound,” Janice said as she moved John out of the way and took Willa’s arm. “Let’s get you into bed.”

  In the early hours of Christmas morning, Melvin John Miller made his appearance in the world, and Willa wondered how so much pure love and joy could arrive in a six-pound-two-ounce bundle.

  The twins were excited to find a new baby had arrived in the night, but they worried it might have to go back home later. Willa assured them baby Melvin was theirs to keep.

  At John’s suggestion, Gary invited the girls outside to see another gift. The sled John had made sat on the front porch. Megan and Lucy soon had Gary pulling them around the yard on it until he was red in the face. When he tired, Nora took over, laughing like a kid herself.

  John sat on the edge of the bed beside Willa and gazed in awe at the child sleeping in her arms. “You have a beautiful son.”

  Willa looked tired but happy. “We have a beautiful son.”

  John reached out and drew his fingers along the curve of her cheek. “I have received a pair of schnickelfritz, a newborn son and a frau I love with all my heart as my Christmas gifts. I’m afraid I will wake and find it has all been a dream.”

  She captured his hand and pressed a kiss into his palm. “I am not a dream. I love you, husband, with all my heart.”

  “It was hard for me to believe in love again, but you and your children have convinced me that God wishes us to be a family.” He leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, “I will never stop giving thanks for your love.”

  “I trust God to make our lives joyful. I trust that he will give
us more children to love and years to work together side by side. I know we shall have obstacles to overcome and trials to endure, but I will do my best to make you a good wife.”

  John’s lips touched hers with incredible gentleness, a featherlight touch. The sweet softness of his lips moved away from her mouth. He kissed her cheek and then her brow. It wasn’t enough. She cupped his face with her hand and brought his mouth back to hers. To her delight, he deepened the kiss. Joy clutched her heart and stole her breath away.

  Slowly, he drew back. Willa wasn’t ready to let him go. She would never be ready.

  “I love you, Willa,” he murmured softly into her ear. “You made me whole again. I was brokenhearted and on the edge of despair. You and your beautiful daughters found a way to mend me.”

  “I lived a life ashamed of what I had done. I thought I was beyond help. I thought I didn’t deserve the wonderful babies God had given me. And then you came into my life and I saw hope and I found faith.”

  He kissed her again and then leaned down to kiss the baby’s head. There was a knock at her door. Gary and Nora came in with Vera and the twins. The girls edged close to the bed to admire their new brother.

  “I like him,” Megan said, touching him softly.

  “I like him more,” Lucy added, taking hold of his little hand. She looked at John. “Are you sure we can keep him?”

  John smiled. “I’m sure.”

  “Are you our daddy now?” Megan asked.

  He nodded solemnly. “Ja, I am your daed. Is this okay?”

  Megan stared at him a long moment. “Does this mean we’re your Amish daughters?”

  “Ja, Gott has given me Amish Christmas twins as a gift. I love you and your little brother very much.”

  The girls climbed on the bed and put their arms around his neck. Lucy kissed his cheek. “We love you, too, Johnjohn.”

  In that moment, Willa thanked God for the mysteriously twisted path that had brought them all to this place. It was exactly where they belonged.

  * * * * *

  If you enjoyed AMISH CHRISTMAS TWINS,

  look for the other books in the

  AMISH BACHELORS series: